Our contribution to the Tamil Nadu ICZM plan
The Tamil Nadu ICZM plan had to be amendable in terms of financial, administrative, environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) aspects. It also needed to accommodate the views of the local population and their interests. As part of the ICZM plan, we:
- conducted land use, capability and vulnerability mapping
- developed a Special Area Management Plan (SAMP)
- conducted an inter-sector impact assessment
We prepared land use, capability and vulnerability maps with a scale of 1:5000 with land boundaries visible for the entire coastal stretch. All the maps run from the coast to 2.5 km inland. They go up to the village boundary and include full administrative units. This is the first time for an Indian state to develop maps of this sort for the entire length of its coastline. These maps will benefit various governmental departments and other stakeholders and help in future planning.
In addition, a SAMP was prepared for the DOE requested us to work on specific SAMPs, particularly focusing on:
- socioeconomic aspects, in terms of community development along with the prevailing coastal problems in Cuddalore
- engineering solutions to prevent coastal erosion in Tharangambadi
- conservation of rich mangrove biodiversity in Manakkudy
Stakeholder consultation meetings were conducted at appropriate places and the valuable suggestions received were incorporated into the SAMP. For the inter-sector impact assessment, we identified and described the most significant environmental issues such as pollution in estuaries due to aquaculture and industry, degradation of mangroves due to forestry, overfishing and erosion, among others as well as social issues in the areas. Since ICZM is a new tool in India, we provided training to the government officials, NGOs and stakeholders as well.